Some brass back Kirsten Gillibrand's sexual-assault bill

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has garnered the support of three retired generals in her bid to overhaul how the Pentagon prosecutes sexual assault and other major criminal cases.

The New York Democrat is still a long way from getting the backing of the Defense Department itself. But recent letters sent to the senator and obtained by POLITICO show she’s not without some backing from the brass. The new supporters are retired Brig. Gen. David McGinnis, a former Obama administration Pentagon appointee; retired Lt. Gen. Claudia Kennedy, the first woman to be a three-star Army general; and retired Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, who was the Army’s highest-ranking psychiatrist.

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Gillibrand: Military resisting change

“After carefully thinking about this issue, I believe the Defense Department’s time to solve the problem on its own has expired,” Kennedy wrote. “Civilian and uniformed military leaders have had absolute discretion and power to make changes, but have not fixed the problem and have not stopped retaliation suffered by survivors who report the crimes committed against them.”

“Failure to achieve these reforms would be a further tragedy to an already sorrowful history of inattention and ineptitude concerning military sexual assault,” Sutton added.

McGinnis, who served during Obama’s first term as acting assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, told Gillibrand her approach would help address “the historic lack of sincerity within the Department of Defense on issues relating to women in the military.”

The three retired generals have told Gillibrand they are available to lobby undecided senators ahead of a vote expected later this year on her amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Bill. A Gillibrand aide said the senator also plans to cite the letters as she meets this week with more undecided colleagues.

She’s fighting against some of the most senior active duty Pentagon officials, including members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who oppose her amendment. Several retired senior female service members also spoke out against Gillibrand in July during a press conference hosted by Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.). They endorsed keeping the Senate version of the defense bill, noting that it already includes nearly two dozen other sexual assault provisions, including stripping commanders of their authority to overturn a court-martial conviction, making it a crime to retaliate against a victim who reports a sexual assault and expanding an Air Force pilot program that provides legal aid to victims serving in all the branches.